Notes on a Time
by Kate Anderson
Summary: She remembered that this was Tom and everything felt right in the world again. Fluffy oneshot Tom.Diana


SPOILERS: Everything up to and including season four's, "Ghost in the Machine".

DISCLAIMER: I just checked and I still don't own the 4400 or any associated characters.

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The knock at the door startled her but Diana supposed that she shouldn't have been surprised to find Tom standing outside. His hair was plastered wet to his head and his jacket was clinging to his arms. As she silently ushered him inside, his shoes squeaked on the carpet. Diana was briefly reminded of the time that she'd appeared outside his door, dripping from the rain and demanded that Alana take her to Maia.

"Give me your coat," Diana said and held out a hand for the wet garment. Tom shed the jacket and she held it away from her body and looked for a likely place to drape it. "Did you walk over here?"

Tom shook his head and wiped a rivulet of water from his forehead. "No, I just parked a few blocks away."

Diana frowned. "I'll get you a towel." She did, of course, know why he was here and wondered how long the inevitable could be postponed.

Tom scrubbed his hair and face with the towel and then held it in his hands, twisting the fabric. "I just needed to see you." he said finally, by way of an explanation for his appearance. "I thought maybe we could talk."

Not long, apparently. Diana gestured toward a kitchen chair and occupied herself with making coffee. Water, filter, coffee grounds. She picked a few crumbs off the counter with the tip of her finger and brushed them off into the sink. Then, forcing a smile, she sat down beside Tom.

The coffee machine gurgled in the background. "You don't have to say it." she said.

"I do." Tom replied. "Because if I don't, I don't know if I'll ever forgive myself. What I did was..."

"Not your fault."

Tom shook his head. "You don't understand, Di. I was watching, I knew what was happening and there should have been something that I could have done!"

"There wasn't." Diana stated. "I know that. Maia knows that. Kyle knows that and NTAC knows that as well. Everyone knows that."

Diana smoothed out the rolled up edge of the placemat. Tom seemed to be choosing his next words carefully. "I had – I wouldn't call them daydreams but they were about hurting people. People that I care about."

"Oh?"

"When we went to Promise City to talk to Collier about Imroth, I remember grabbing a shovel." Diana winced and Tom continued. "I struck Kyle with the blade. You were yelling at me to stop and then I hit you with the handle."

Something churned in Diana's stomach and she found herself at a loss for words. The coffee machine had stopped gurgling and was sputtering. As she poured two cups of coffee, Diana found herself picturing Tom striking Kyle with a shovel. The image made her shudder.

"That's why I need to say that I'm sorry." Tom said, as Diana sat back down.

This time, Diana accepted the apology with a slight nod. She took a sip of the too-hot coffee and then scraped her fuzzy-feeling tongue along her front teeth. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," Tom replied.

"It's probably none of my business but this thing with Meghan, was that..." Diana paused, already knowing that she'd regret asking the question. "Was that part of the whole Marked thing?"

Tom made a sort of strangled noise. "Mostly, yes."

The 'mostly' seemed to hang in the air and Diana batted it around for a few moments. "Mostly?"

"I was genuinely attracted to her but the guy who slept with her, that wasn't me." Diana felt a sort of giddy relief wash over her. "I think," Tom went on, "I think that it was because she was in a position of power. The future felt there must have been some reason to get in bed with the enemy. So to speak."

Tom's words brought Diana back to the late night meeting that she'd with Meghan, who had echoed a similar phrase. Sleeping with the enemy. "That's good." Diana said. Tom's furrowed brow seemed to question the 'good'.

They sat in an easy silence for a few minutes. Diana looked at the edge of the placemat again and wondered if it was time to buy new ones. Perhaps a different colour. "It's good to have you back." she said.

"Believe me, it's good to be back."

Her coffee had vanished from her mug and Diana glanced over at Tom's. "Did you want some more coffee?"

Tom glanced around, his gaze falling on the microwave clock. "Are you sure? It's getting late."

Diana smiled. "I'm sure. Did you want some more?" In reply, Tom handed her his mug.

The television flickered to life as Diana poured another round of coffee. Tom stopped fiddling with the buttons on the remote for a moment to take the proffered mug. "Why do you have captions on?" he asked, returning to the buttons.

Diana shrugged. "It was late and Maia was sleeping. Also, the movie was in French and I was hoping that I could understand more if it were written." She took the remote from Tom and turned the captions off. "It helps me relax." she declared, off Tom's incredulous look.

They settled on a mindless comedy from the '70's and sometime between the gun fight and the exploding police car, Diana found herself napping on her partner's shoulder. The noise from the television jarred her awake and she shifted slightly. Tom's arm snaked around her and as he pulled her closer, Diana drifted off again.

Sometime much later, the channel had switched from the movie to a screen of solid coloured bars and a slight hum. Tom was snoring softly and Diana wondered how they had gone from stilted conversation to sleeping on the couch. Then she remembered that this was Tom and everything felt right in the world again.

She nudged him slightly with a shoulder and watched, in the dim glow from the window, as he woke up. "We fell asleep." she whispered.

In response, Tom mumbled and rubbed his neck. Diana clicked the tv off and watched as the screen grew dimmer until finally reaching black. The clock on the wall ticked past two. "You could stay on the couch," Diana suggested. "Rather than driving home now."

"Thank you." Tom whispered.

Diana stood up, thinking that she was too old for cuddling on the couch and then reminded herself that they were not cuddling. "I'll grab you a pillow and a blanket."

The linen closet door squeaked and Diana mentally hushed it. Behind her, Tom shuffled into the bathroom. She stood for a moment, holding the pillow and blanket in her arms, looking at the slant of light that crept out from underneath the door. The toilet flushed, the water ran and she heard Tom fumble around in the cupboard.

Diana unfolded the blanket and was spreading it over the foot of the couch when the bathroom door opened, momentarily flooding the room with light. She blinked and fluffed the pillow. Tom shuffled across the room again, his shirt and jeans in hand A brief moment passed in which Diana thought about how inappropriate this might be but she dismissed the thought. "It's an old blanket," she said, gesturing at the couch. "But it's still warm. If you do get cold, there's another in the closet."

Tom reached down and ran a hand over the blanket. "It should be fine." he said. His shirt and pants were now tossed onto the coffee table and Diana resisted the urge to fold them. "Thank you, again. I used some of your Advil, by the way."

The doctors had said that Tom would experience headaches. Side effect from having another personality in the brain.

"Did you need anything else?"

Tom shook his head. "No, go get some sleep." He moved toward the couch and then paused. A few seconds later, he kissed her forehead and tangled his fingers in her hair. "I'll see you in the morning." he whispered.

Diana allowed herself a small smile and then turned away.


End file.
